Barnstable, MA DPW;
When Juno clobbered the Cape in 2015, many of the department’s vehicles became disabled in the heavy snow. The snowfighters, which are often used to clear airport runways, were bought used, with few miles, for about $70,000, about one-third the cost of new vehicles. The department also has moved away from using sand to treat the roads and are using salt and a salt and chemical mixture instead, according to Michael Perry, the highway supervisor.
For every $10 spent on sand, it costs about $100 to clean it up, Perry said, adding that it often clogs the drainage systems and is overall less efficient.
One of their best plow trucks is a 1990's vintage Oshkosh truck, bought used.
One of the best places to save taxpayer dollars is by watching the state surplus program, where towns and cities can often get state equipment peanuts. For example, the state gets rid of perfectly good sanders, made of stainless steel. Some times they may have damage such as a missing or bent chute or some carbon steel parts may need replacement. When you consider a new stainless steel sander can cost between 15 and 20 thousand and you can repair or replace the carbon steel parts for a few thousand dollars, which one make more sense, as in dollars and cents. I have tried for a long time to get Templeton highway to look into that but to no avail. The above shows one more town that gets it, sand is not really cheaper to use.
